Deloitte real estate director Jennifer Podmore Russell points to anecdotal evidence, especially among entrepreneurs, of more women making their way into senior executive positions in the commercial real estate industry. A Deloitte study in tandem with Carleton University shows a decrease of women in senior management real estate positions in the private sector, from 24.7% in 1987 to 6.1% in 2011. So as Jennifer indicates, the entrepreneurs may not be captured in the study. “These smaller businesses do indicate a growing trend locally,” she says.

The key in seeing more women advance in real estate, she tells us, is the need for both mentorship and sponsorship. Mentors often stay with you through your entire career. Sponsors help you navigate the corporate environment in which you work, advocating you and championing your career, Jennifer says. “To advance women within real estate we need to help find a way to ensure our women—all of our people, actually—have both,” she says. In the image are all the CREW chapter reps from Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal at the CREW Network Winter Leadership Summit in Utah last week.